Mulk is a Bollywood socio-religious drama, starring Rishi Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu, Prateik Babbar, Ashutosh Rana and Kumud Mishra. The film, directed by Anubhav Sinha and produced by Deepak Mukut, opened to rave reviews because of its bold content and it’s hard hitting message. Now, such movies aren’t expected to have a music album, but ‘Mulk’ makes sure it has three songs, an apt number of songs in such a film. The music is composed by Background music artist Prasad Sashte, while a guest composition is by Anurag Saikia, who is fresh from the success of his songs from ‘Karwaan’. So let’s see how the songs go with the theme of the film! 😊

Prasad Sashte opens the album with an upbeat celebratory number Thenge Se, which, in its opening beats itself, maintains that it is a song meant to groove to. The opening lines of the composition cleverly hark back to ‘Kajra Mohabbat Wala’ (Kismet), and the feel of the song is more or less the same happy-go-lucky feel that that song carries. Prasad employs three singers to sing three different stanzas with the same tune; the three-mukhda structure, however, doesn’t bore, because all three singers do their best, while Tapas Roy’s string instruments do their part in making the song entertaining at every step. Sunidhi Chauhan opens the song with a boom, while Suvarna Tiwari, fresh from the success of her song ‘Prabhu Ji’ (High Jack), which was coincidentally sung for the guest composer of this album, Anurag Saikia, brings in a rustic and earthy feel, and Swanand Kirkire does the same. Meanwhole, Amit Padhye’s harmonium and Shadab Mohammed’s dholaks engage the listener. Shakeel Azmi’s lyrics are fun and go well with the upbeat theme of the song.

Prasad’s second song Khudara starts with Islamic chants that tell you that it would be a very pensive and sombre melody. As soon as Vishal Dadlani starts singing, your doubts are cleared: the song turns out to be a heart wrenching sad song, which reaches its peak in the hookline, a soaring high-pitched portion rendered perfectly by Dadlani. Mithun Mohan, Ashwin, Anirudh, Himanshu, Tushar & Prasad do well in the backing chants — it really does its bit to increase the song’s appealing nature. The arrangements are mainly soft rock arrangements where the guitars are the only notable instruments; the rest relies on Dadlani’s captivating vocals. Shakeel Azmi’s lyrics are as heart-rending as the composition that Sashte has spun. However, at two antaras, the song seems extra long; it could’ve been kept at one.

The guest composer Anurag Saikia pitches in for the last song, and it is always a delight to read his name on the credits of any album; and it is commendable that he has reached this stage after doing just three songs in two albums before this! Piya Samaye is a proper Qawwali, something we haven’t got to hear in Bollywood for quite a long time. Or especially not one that has been done so tastefully. Arshad Hussain and Shafqat Amanat Ali complement each other beautifully, and Anurag’s composition suits the theme of the film so well, as do Shakeel Azmi’s lyrics based on secularism. The tablas, dholaks, harmoniums that are expected in a Qawwali, are amazing, but here Saikia also adds a wonderful bass, which, if you can catch it, mesmerizes you. And the strings conducted by Jitendra Javda are just mind blowing. All in all, this song is the perfect grand finale for a short and beautiful album like this!!

Mulk was not really expected to have songs, and since it does, I never expected them to be such gems, to be honest! I just can’t express how happy I am that Mulk is one such album that I will never forget, both because of its wonderful music and its meaningful lyrics!

Total Points Scored by This Album: 8.5 + 8 + 9.5 = 26

Album Percentage: 86.67%

Final Rating for This Album: सा < रे < ग < म < प < ध < नी < सां

Note: The letter which is underlined is the final rating.

Recommended Listening Order: Piya Samaye > Thenge Se > Khudara

Which is your favourite song from Mulk? Please vote for it below! Thanks! 🙂

Phamous is a Bollywood action comedy starring Jimmy Shergill, Pankaj Tripathi, Shriya Saran, Jackie Shroff, Mahie Gill and Kay Kay Menon. The film is directed by Karan Lalit Bhutani and produced by Raj Khatri. The film has music composed by Krsna Solo, Sundeep Gosswami and Surya Vishwakarma. The latter two composers are debutants, while Krsna is a well known name, from whom we expect great music. Let’s see whether our expectations are met!

Krsna gets to open the album with the the electrifying desi rock number that Bandook is. The film is situated in the Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh, so a full-on gangster track was expected, but what wasn’t expected was that Krsna would produce a twist in the tale with the addition of the electrifying rock elements. Right from the opening ad-lib by Vishal Dadlani, followed by the entry of those rock guitars, you know that you would love the rock in this song. And of course, with the powerhouse that Vishal is, the composer can rest assured that his song will be rendered beautifully and with the right amount of spunk. Puneet Sharma’s lyrics are perfect, calling the gun as the daughter of iron! The composition too, is really catchy, and it doesn’t sound forced, and especially doesn’t sound like the composer has made some extra effort to make the tune match the rock. The grunge in Vishal’s voice, the energy of the guitars, the energetic percussions and the catchy tune, all fit in place to make an effective gangster theme song for the Chambal region.

Sundeep Gosswami and Surya Vishwakarma collaborate to produce the sweet romantic number Dil Beparwah, a song which, surprisingly, marks the first duet of Jubin Nautiyal and Jonita Gandhi! The mandolin with which the song starts instantly sucks you in, with a strong oriental touch, and when Jubin starts off, instantly evoking memory of Sonu Johan’s such romantic songs, you get goosebumps. Rather, I did. Sundeep-Surya’s tune is strong, arrangements are sweet, and that’s why the vocal prowess of Jubin and Jonita seems to have magnified. Yes, the music is quite standard of an affair and nothing too innovative,but sometimes it’s really soothing to hear such a simple romantic song, especially when the arrangements and vocals are spot on like this. Jonita especially sounds great. Naveen Tyagi’s lyrics describe the feelings of young romance really well, and I really loved the second interlude where the composing duo adds beautiful mandolins. The second antara sounds like an unnecessary add-on though, making the song too long for no reason. Anyway, it’s one of the better romantic songs we have got in a long time.

The dance number Titri sees Sundeep go solo, and the song he creates is like a rustic answer to Pritam’s ‘Tukur Tukur’ (Dilwale). Again, Sundeep does a great job with the quirky and rustic ethnic strings, which sucks you in right from the beginning. The backing vocals by him are just as fun, accompanied by quirky rabaabs and harmoniums, not to mention the wonderfully quirky sound effects. The singer Priyanka Negi debuts, I believe, with this song, and it is truly one of the strongest debuts this year! She owns the song and how! I also commend the lyricist Puneet Sharma for presenting a song of this genre without making the lyrics vulgar or anything. Last year, Gaurav Dagaonkar gave us ‘Aye Saiyan’ (Babumoshai Bandookbaaz) which was a similar song, but a recreation. As such, this stands out because of it being original, yet providing a similarly quirky and rustic touch. The composition of course, is catchy, and everyone who hears it is sure to groove along until it is over. Fortunately the song isn’t short.

The album to this film is surprisingly great, with three songs that do two things right — fit well with the script and setting of the film, and are catchy as standalone tracks as well. Sadly, the album won’t become as Phamous as I think it deserves!!

Total Points Scored by This Album: 8.5 + 8 + 8 = 24.5

Album Percentage: 81.67%

Final Rating for This Album: सा < रे < ग < म < प < ध < नी < सां

Note: The letter which is underlined is the final rating.

Recommended Listening Order: Bandook > Dil Beparwah = Titri

Which is your favourite Song From Phamous? Please vote for it below! Thanks!☺️

Kaalakaandi is an upcoming Bollywood black comedy, directed by ‘Delhi Belly’s writer Akshat Verma, and starring an ensemble cast comprising Saif Ali Khan, Deepak Dobriyal, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Akshay Oberoi, Sobhita Dhuliphala, Isha Talvar, Amyra Dastur. The film’s music is expected to be in the same zany and wacky zone as that of ‘Delhi Belly’ was. This time though, Ram Sampath hasn’t been roped in. Sameer Uddin has been given charge of the songs of the album, and ‘Phillauri’ fame Shashwat Sachdev gets to compose the title song. Let’s dive right in!

Sameer Uddin composed the theme track ‘Badass Babua’, to Rajkummar Rao’s character in ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’. Now, he returns with Swagpur Ka Chaudhary, a song that is just as full of attitude and spunk as was the former one. The song is a bit less catchy than ‘Badass Babua’, but it is still very fun to listen to, thanks to Akshay Verma’s energetic singing, and the fun Haryanvi lyrics and accent. Neha Bhasin’s Kaala Doreya is a funky recreation of the popular Punjabi folk song, but it isn’t as catchy as it could have been. Neha sings wonderfully though, and she seems to be getting hit song after hit song these days. My favourite from the album is Jive With Me, a nice retro-ish track with amazing brass instruments and a quirky trumpet loop. Abhishek Nailwal’s singing is top-notch, and so is Sameer’s composition.Aa Bhi Jaais a bit of an unconventionally dark and sensuous, but still zany song, almost in the ‘Aao Na’ (Haider) zone. What’s more, it is sung (rather, whispered) amazingly by Vishal Dadlani too! The vocal loop here is great. Nice how Sameer’s songs have this one particular loop that make them even more enjoyable!
Shashwat Sachdev’s guest composition, Kaalakaandi is an amazing fusion of folk instruments and techno sounds; the man shows his versatility in this track like he did when he could compose a ‘Naughty Billo’ and a ‘Dum Dum’ in the same album, ‘Phillauri’. The Carnatic style sarangi and dhols are welcome experiments, and unconventional too, as is the crank in tempo towards the end.

An unexpectedly enjoyable experimental album, which might not stick with us due to its tunes, but will be remembered for its distinct crazy sounds.

Tiger Zinda Hai is a Bollywood action film starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaifin lead roles. The film is directed by ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’, ‘Gunday’ and ‘Sultan’ fame Ali Abbas Zafar, and produced by Aditya Chopra.The film is a sequel to 2012’s ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, which was directed by Kabir Khan. The music to that instalment was given by Sohail Sen, with a guest composition by Sajid-Wajid, but this time, despite the director’s past associations with Sohail Sen, he goes for his the duo who made the music for ‘Sultan’, Vishal-Shekhar. Now, Vishal-Shekhar’s last album was ‘Befikre’ around the same time last year. After a whole year, they are returning to the scene with such a huge film. Also, seeing that the YRF-Vishal-Shekhar combo has been such an amazing one, I’m sure the album will be great too. Though an action film doesn’t have much scope for great music, it sure can be appreciable! Let’s see whether they build on Sohail’s base of a good commercial album, or go the unconventional and experimental way!

Vishal-Shekhar’s year-long hiatus seemed long, but with the first song of their comeback album, Swag Se Swagat, it seems they returned with all the wrong music. The song sounds like a hastily made Sajid-Wajid-Salman number, with a hook that is utterly banal and another line that desperately goes ‘Kuchnikuchnikuch‘. Lyrically it is one of the most mediocre works coming out of Kamil’s pen. A nice incorporation of Julius Packiam’s theme music for ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ makes the song at least a little catchy. Neha Bhasin’s vocals are great, but Dadlani’s usual energy doesn’t come across this time. The second song Dil Diyan Gallan, marks the duo’s first time working with Atif Aslam, and though there’s nothing new in the way they present his voice, what is new is that he is made to sing in Punjabi — a quite interesting combination, and sounds beautiful too. The composition is soothing and fit for listening on loop. The slightly retrograde arrangements can’t be a good sign: I’ve noticed so many composers falling back on the tried-and-tested tabla rhythm this year. The strings do make their presence felt though — reminds me of Vishal-Shekhar’s ‘Naina’ (Gori Tere Pyaar Mein). Irshad’s lyrics are good too. The song is seen in a much earthier Unplugged Version sung by Neha Bhasin, back in her ‘Jag Ghoomeya’ mode, and her amazing diction of the Punjabi phrases sounds yummy once again. The arrangements here are beautiful too, with a lilting Kashmiri vibe to them. There are places even, when Neha sounds like Kavita Seth. I would’ve also loved another version by Harshdeep Kaur, who suits the Punjabi template amazingly.
The next song, called Zinda Hai, can be called the title track, except it never says ‘Tiger’. Anyway, the song is an electrifying rock number, with Sukhwinder back in his energetic form, and Raftaar complementing him well. Vishal-Shekhar’s composition is good, but not great. Arrangements are also good, but will inevitably be compared to ‘Sultan’s title track, in front of which they pale in comparison. The rest of the album is a very different zone of music than that which one would expect in a Salman Khan entertainer. Daata Tu sees Vishal-Shekhar in the ‘Kahaani’ mode, a beautiful divine melody with Shreya touching the heart strings effortlessly. A wonderful Sufi portion towards the end redeems the song for those who got bored in the beginning. The soundtrack’s best is cleverly saved for the last, and it is Jyoti Nooran’s Tera Noor, a hard-hitting Sufi number, with amazing lyrics by Kamil. The rock is hard-hitting, and though Sufi Rock is almost always great, Vishal-Shekhar take it a notch higher with this one. The adlib at the beginning is heavenly. But beware that this one is highly experimental and will take at least a couple of listens to develop a liking to.

Vishal-Shekhar’s music has beautifully inverted the course of the ‘Tiger’ franchise. Where Sohail Sen & Sajid-Wajid were religiously commercial in the first album, Vishal-Shekhar dare to go experimental and melodious in this one!

The Important Announcement

Due to the scarcity of time, from now on, I will sum up the entire month’s reviews in a set of two articles each month, one usually around the 15th of the month and the other towards the end. Of course, certain albums that I feel need a separate post (either because they might have many songs, or be spectacular albums, or even if the movies are highly awaited ones) I will do so for those albums. I will reveal the chosen album for this month — it’ll be “Secret Superstar” — I don’t guarantee it’ll be rated very high, but because of the buzz surrounding it, it requires a separate post, I feel! Meanwhile, the usual monthly awards posts will sum everything up once again at the end of every month in the form of awards. I really hope this format helps me balance my schedule! And I can’t wait to return to my normal long posts — till then enjoy your luck of getting to read short reviews from my side!!

October 2017 Round-Up

So this post will cover the reviews for the all but two of October releases that have already released — ‘Chef’ by Raghu Dixit & Amaal Mallik, ‘Tu Hai Mera Sunday’ by Amartya Rahut (Bobo), ‘Ranchi Diaries’ by Nickk, Jeet Gannguli, Tony Kakkar & Bobby-Imran, ‘Golmaal Again’ by Amaal Mallik, Thaman S., Lijo George-DJ Chetas & Abhishek Arora, and ‘Jia Aur Jia’ by Sachin Gupta, Nisschal Zaveri & Sameer Nichani. There will be separate reviews for ‘Secret Superstar’ and ‘Rukh’, both by Amit Trivedi.

Raghu Dixit starts off the album with Shugal Laga Le, a song having a heavy folk influence from Kerala. The backing vocalists provide that freshness associated with Kerala, and Raghu’s characteristic voice makes it all the more intriguing to listen to. In his arrangements too, he adds a dash of everything, and especially those percussions are mind blowing, along with the banjo. Ankur’s lyrics made me acquainted with a new phrase “Shugal Laga Le” meaning “find a hobby, or find something to do”. The next song by him is also reliant on folk music, this time Celtic/Irish. Banjaara is steeped heavily on the beautiful flutes that characterise Irish music, with amazing percussion and backing vocals yet again. Vishal Dadlani does great justice to the sing with those power-packed vocals. The song is one of those many motivational songs that Vishal gets to sing in Bollywood, except that this time, it has a whole new style to it. The mellow Darmiyaan, exudes a positivity in spite of the fact that it is a sad song — mostly because of Raghu’s ebullience. A splendid guitar backdrop makes it simple and sweet, and Raghu’s diction has to be lauded. Raghu takes forth the melancholia in a more Bollywood-ish way in Khoya Khoya, which I rank as the best of the album — underrated Shahid Mallya taking charge of the vocals in a very beautiful way, and Dixit’s composition has that old-world-charm to it. The sarangi is quite impressive here! The alternative rock set up will make this one loveable to many! Raghu’s last song on the album is the effervescent Tan Tan, rendered with spunk by Nikhita Gandhi, the only female vocalist on the album. In her texture, she gives off vibes of Shalmali and Shefali. Guest composer Amaal Mallik, whose song Tere Mere was also removed from the album later, produces a song you can immediately tell is by him. That doesn’t make its richness diluted, though — it’s still wonderful, with the nice dholak rhythm accompanying Armaan Malik’s beautiful voice. Also, Rashmi-Virag’s lyrics are amazing!
All in all, Chef is one of the best albums of the year in that it is a clever mix of melancholia, inspiration and romance. Raghu Dixit must sign more and more Bollywood films — I firmly believe that this is his best Bollywood album yet!

Total Points Scored by This Album (in the order mentioned in the review): 4 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 4.5 + 4 = 26.5

Out of Arijit’s two songs, the classically-steeped sad song Dhundlo Tum fares better, with an addictive strings orchestra accompanying it, and it quickly steers away from the Bhatt-ish genre that it starts off with. Had that continued, it wouldn’t have been half as good. The digital Sitar is beautiful. His other song, Thodi Si Jagah, is also classical-based for some initial parts, before it turns into an upbeat number that loses itself halfway through the song. The rock backdrop ofthe hook line couldn’t have been more clichéd. Arijit’s vocal prowess is clearly showcased in the song though. It is Amartya’s violin solo that impresses though, with its distinct classical tune. The title song, Tu Hai Mera Sunday, takes a pleasant Christmassy turn, with soft jazz making your ears happy. Shalmali renders it with a familiarity that makes you feel amazing. The brass portions have been done really well here, as are the drums. The clarinet and piano is wonderful too. It is nothing more than the lyrics that make it sound even more personal though. Ash King’s Yeh Mera Manis a pleasant departure from his previous song ‘Bandook Meri Laila’ (A Gentleman) and brings him back to his comfort zone. Again, a jazzy tune gives the song a kind of spring, and that whistle portion is so pleasantly surprising and charming, it is hard to dislike. The guitars are impressive here. Yeh Jo Pyaar Hai, a clubbish number sung by Nandini Srikar, is probably the weakest of the album, where the tune and the arrangement are just mismatched; the hookline sounds like this song was pitched for the situation of ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ (Don) before ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ was finalised.Amartya’s best album to date provides us with a nice mix of classical music, jazz music and a banal club number! This album will go highly underrated and unnoticed though!

Total Points Scored by This Album (in order mentioned in the review): 4.5 + 4 + 4 + 3.5 + 3 = 19

Some newcomer Nickk is — he has just been made to make another ‘Baby Doll’, now that Meet Bros. just be refusing to do it. However, Fashion Queen has something in addition to the usual ‘Baby Doll’ sequels — an Arabic strings backdrop that just helps it as much as a car can help you fly. The new singer Raahi seems disillusioned with the ideals that it is okay to sing like Kanika Kapoor if you aren’t her. The composer’s rap is dumb. Helicopter‘s lyricist and composer Tony Kakkar uses the word ‘helicopter’ as a metaphor for ‘getting high’. 😶 Siblings Tony and Neha render it with as much mediocrity as they can muster. I can’t believe Tony is the same guy behind ‘Saawan Aaya Hai’ (Creature 3D) and ‘Khuda Bhi’ (Ek Paheli Leela), but then he has made ‘Ek Do Teen Chaar’ (Ek Paheli Leela) and ‘Do Peg Maar’ (One Night Stand). Jeet Gannguli’s Thoda Aur is the composer’s usual pathos-filled romantic number — you would think that after a year-long break, he would return with something pleasant. But it is the same old Arijit-Palak love story. And the irony is that this song sounds like ‘Saawan Aaya Hai’ (Creature 3D). So did Tony help him here instead of making his own song better? 😏 The last song is a banal Mika solo Godfather, composed by Pritam’s former assistants Bobby-Imran, which I couldn’t even finish once when I started to listen to it.This is a Hodge-podge of the worst songs from the weirdest mix of composers ever.

The album to the much-awaited fourth instalment to the ‘Golmaal’ series starts with the Title Track, where South film composer Thaman S. is called in just to do that clichéd Kuthu rhythm we are all bored of. Brijesh Shandilya does well as the lead male singer, but Aditi Singh Sharma sounds utterly replaceable. She gets another song, Itna Sannata Kyun Hai, composed by Lijo George and DJ Chetas, where her part towers over her male co-singer Amit Mishra’s parts. The hookline is like a desperate scream in our ears, to make noise. The EDM after the hookline is so bad, I can’t describe it. Amaal Mallik, lead composer, gets two songs, where one is obviously a 90s remake. ‘Neend Churayi Meri’ (Ishq) is the privileged song, named by the company as Maine Tujhko Dekha. The song’s best part is that Neeraj Sridhar returns after a long time to sing a song that is tailor-made for his song. Sukriti Kakar complements him well, but the song is better as an individual song than it is as a remake. Had the hookline been original, it would have been amazing! Amaal’s second song happens to be the album’s best — Hum Nahi Sudhrenge gives those rays of positivity like ‘Apna Har Din’ did in ‘Golmaal 3’. Though the song is similar to Amaal’s other EDM numbers like “Sooraj Dooba Hai”, “Buddhu Sa Mann” and “Zindagi Aa Raha Hoon Main”, it works well because of its positivity and Armaan yet again sings charmingly! What Saregama holds of the album is an unplugged, slow-paced version of ‘Maine Pyaar Kiya’s Aate Jaate Hanste Gaate, sung very simply by Nikhil D’Souza and Anushka Manchanda, and arranged soothingly by Abhishek Arora (of Abhishek-Akshay) and Samyuktha Narendran. It doesn’t work too much though, in spite of not changing much from the old song.The worst Golmaal album is held up solely by Amaal’s songs (or song).

The songs by Sachin Gupta start off the album, and though they do not impress you immediately, you do get attuned to them on hearing them for a couple of times. Na Shukre is a wild rock song about carefree girls, and Smita Malhotra makes a rocking debut with her vocals in this, the rock guitars played wonderfully. Shivani Bhayana’s Naach Basanti, on the other hand, is a bit too rowdy to go with its amazing club arrangements, but apparently by the lyrics, it is supposed to be some sort of an ode to “Sholay”. Many of the small additions by Gupta in this song happen to catch your attention, like the techno sounds at the beginning, and the folksy portion at the end.
The newcomer composer, Nisschal Zaveri, steps in for the rest of the songs (with lyrics) and I must say, he does quite an amazing job in his first album itself. His lullaby-ish, classical-based Na Jaa appears in two versions, one in Asees Kaur’s voice, with a stark resemblance to her singing in ‘Kaari Kaari’ (Dobaara), while the other is in Nandini Srikar’s voice. Obviously, Nandini’s version wins my heart because of her seasoned voice and more classically inclined singing. The Tabla in this song has to be mentioned, as do the strings, guitars and mandolin. The arrangements overpower the voice of Asees in her version, another drawback of that version. Nandini’s version has everything that the music buff longs for in a good song.
Zaveri’s other song, released by Saregama, is a reprise of Shankar-Jaikishan-Mohd. Rafi classic Jia O Jia, and is an apt remake of the song, with an upbeat clubbish sound, one of the freshest remakes I’ve heard this year. The song feels like a splash of water on your face — despite being a remake, Zaveri uses his creativity to make it a bit unconventional, without being bogged down by the thought of what’s popular these days. The synth has been used amazingly, and the backing chorus singing “Jia O” after every hook is just sweet! Jyotica sounds amazing in this song, the least she has sounded like Neha Kakkar ever! But Rashid Ali, being heard after a long time, falls flat due to the excessive programming done to his voice. The Latino turn of sound midway into the song takes time to get used to, but is awesome!
The background score composer for the film, Sameer Nichani, gets one of his instrumental pieces added to the album, and it is called Jia Aur Jia Theme, and is heavy on Spanish guitars, played in a very sensuous way. It is extremely short at one and a half minute, but soothes your senses for all its worth.A hidden gem of an album, wherein we find a new composer who must get many, many more songs in Bollywood!! Zaveri scores higher than Gupta here.

Remake Counter:

I hope that wasn’t too long (though I know it was) but this is what I’m going to have to do until I am a bit more free. I personally liked this method of reviewing and don’t mind continuing it forever too! So maybe, just maybe, you might get the “Secret Superstar” and “Rukh” reviews in this format too, but in separate posts and not clubbed together! Lets see! Till then, enjoy music! 😉

A Gentleman is an upcoming Bollywood action comedy, starring Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Suniel Shetty and Darshan Kumar in lead roles. The film is directed by Raj Nidimoru & Krishna DK and produced by Fox Star Studios. The film features Sidharth Malhotra in a double role, one being Sundar Susheel, and the other ‘Risky’. Hence the tagline of the film, ‘Sundar Susheel Risky’. The music of the film is given by the go-to music composers for Raj & DK, Sachin-Jigar. Going by the music of ‘Shor In The City’, ‘Go Goa Gone’, and ‘Happy Ending’, I’m sure this one’s also going to be a treat for people who love quirky music, and the genre of action comedy would give amazing song situations as well! Sachin-Jigar’s discography this year boasts of as many as seven film albums (with ‘Hindi Medium’ being a multicomposer one), and this one is the third to release. ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’ remained my favourite album of the year until Pritam’s gigantic ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ released. I can just hope that this one follows suit and becomes another favourite of mine this year!

1. Disco Disco

Sachin-Jigar’s third album of the year starts off with a very filmy disco song. Is filmy bad or good? Let’s find out. The composition is very catchy, especially the cross line that goes “Aaja Ve Hila Denge Hum Aaj Anganaa“. That part sounds so much like a retro number. The hookline is a typical Bollywood fare, but still manages to hook the listeners. I, for one, found this song more instantly appealing than any of the others on the album (because they took time to grow). The mukhda and antara follow suit, and don’t let the interest of the listener waiver. The major reason you are hooked to the song till the end, must be the short duration. Sachin-Jigar keep the song at a crisp 2:47, neither too long nor too short. The arrangements are great: the disco-esque feel comes out through the nice bass,drums and guitars, and a totally unexpected tumbi (Tapas Roy). The tumbi is what actually makes the song sound very experimental. It gets a nice solo portion in the interlude and towards the end. The vocals are entertaining; Can Benny Dayal ever disappoint in a club number? I love how he pronounces “sajna” as “sajjena“! Sachin-Jigar help Shirley Setia get her first Bollywood song, and despite everything against her on social media, she really handles the song well, and Sachin-Jigar with their genius thoughts, know how to use her voice to the best effect — in a club song! However, she does mumble a bit in the antara, but I guess the song called for that. Vayu’s lyrics are the usual Hinglish lyrics of Bollywood, but work quite well in the filmy song. A totally filmy disco song!

Here onwards in the album, things get a bit more Sachin-Jigar-ish, in that you take more time to get accustomed to the song and like it. The time may be two listens, three listens or even more, but the song is actually are wonderful once you listen to them, with close attention to the music. This one here, is a beach party number, and again, it has a bit of a retro touch. It starts off with a very contemporary vibe, the composition flowing like a romantic song. However, it takes an unexpected turn in the cross line (“hum dono aur yeh saari raat“) where, if you pay close attention to the music, a retro vibe kicks in. The composition for the hookline is a trademark Sachin-Jigar one, and makes you groove instantly, especially the hoots after the words “baat ban jaaye” have been sung. The antara is where the song loses pace and we lose interest; that composition is quite heard-before. Luckily enough, this song is short too, which makes the cross line come back soon enough. The arrangements are fantastic here, and suit as a beach party number. Acoustic guitars start the song off, giving the freshness to the song, as a beach number should be. The retro vibe I talked about consists of amazing guitars played in a retro manner. The digital beats are more heavy in this song, and quirky sounds decorate the song. The vocals are good, Siddharth Basrur leading the way in getting the listeners hooked. However, Priya Saraiya seems a bit too much autotuned here, and it loses the charm of her actual voice. Her lyrics too, are an ordinary fare, but suit the situation well, especially the hookline. A party song that seems ordinary, but will grow!

The next song throws us back into the years, with a characteristic rock and roll/hard rock vibe to it. It slightly resembles what Sachin-Jigar had done in ‘Yeh Jawaani Teri’ (Meri Pyaari Bindu), but in a more Westernized manner. The composition again, takes time to grow, and till then all you can really focus on is the music. The guitars and drums are groovy as expected in a rock and roll song, but of course, Sachin-Jigar add a surprise element every time, and here, it is that sensuous saxophone, which sounds amazing every time it plays. The composition is good too, and like I said, it just takes time for you to catch on. The hookline is the mukhda, making it very short yet again. Two antaras follow, and also an interlude by Jonita. I loved the effect Sachin-Jigar have given to the last line of each antara — “Mud Mud Ke Na Dekha“, and “mujhe ek bhi paise ka”. There’s another amazing saxophone solo in the interlude before Jonita’s portions, and that’s even more impressive. The characteristic piano played in that retro manner, is mind blowing too. The vocals are amazing. I mean, how can Vishal Dadlani fail to crank up the energy? His husky voice is all you need to make this song entertaining. Jonita gets a very small part to sing, which is more like an interlude, but she nails it, in the traditional ‘Bollywood girl’ ‘I’m-Not-Interested’ manner. Vayu’s lyrics are fun as well, and kudos to him for using a name like Chandralekha for the girl, and also to Sachin-Jigar for fitting it into the tune so perfectly! A retro rock song that is really stress-busting!

After three upbeat numbers, and after much thought about whether the album does indeed have a soft and mellow number or not, here pops up a romantic song. Actually, this song was the last to release, so the makers successfully kept the romantic song a secret till the very end. The song falls into the category of ‘Slow Poison’ romantic songs — as you can tell, the song does take time to grow again! However, this time, the amount of time it takes is relatively less, thanks to the amazing composition! It has shades of Sachin-Jigar’s own ‘Thoda Thoda’ (Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story), but is way more intense. The mukhda is very trademark Sachin-Jigar, and the way the female portions are composed in the lower octave, is also, very characteristic of Sachin-Jigar’s previous works. It increases the magic manifold. The hook is something you just can’t forget soon! It has been made to stun us, and stun it does! The flow of the song is just so powerful, you are attentive till the end. Again, a short duration helps that to happen; your attention doesn’t wander somewhere in the middle. The arrangements are minimal and digital beats make up most of the background of the song. But the piano at the beginning and throughout is just so captivating, that you can’t dislike it. The guitar in the interlude also sounds unconventional. As for the vocals, Arijit and Shreya always make a good pair, and this time, Arijit takes the high portions while Shreya quite expertly handles the low portions, a role we see her taking up quite rarely. Well, Sachin-Jigar even made Rekha Bhardwaj (who is know for her beautifully high-pitched voice) to take up an amazing low-pitched voice in ‘Mileya Mileya’ (Happy Ending) and ‘Judaai’ (Badlapur), so I guess it’s just an innate trick that they use! Priya Saraiya’s lyrics are good too, and she keeps them simple and sweet, avoiding heavy philosophical ideas. A beautiful romantic song, with nothing new, but really has you hooked!

Now this was the song everybody was waiting for ever since the motion poster of the film had released. It is described by the makers as an action song, and an action song it is! The song is probably some of the most addictive stuff to have released in the recent years. The hook has had everyone grooving to it for a long time. I don’t know why, maybe because of high expectations, the song seemed very flat the first time I heard it. However, with every subsequent listen, it grew more and more. The composition is addictive; the mukhda is awesome, and the hookline is world-famous now. The rest of the song is mostly rap. Now, about the rap. The rap by Sidharth Malhotra seems very odd, and it seems like a publicity stunt. Earlier this year, Sachin-Jigar made Parineeti sing a ghazal ‘Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahin’ (Meri Pyaari Bindu), and she aced it. However, here Sidharth seems a bit dull, and when Raftaar performs his rap, you can tell the huge difference between both of them. Of course, Raftaar is a professional rapper and that’s the reason, and I feel he should’ve gotten to sing the entire rap. The ‘Ban meri Laila‘ hooks are very addictive, and the way they sing ‘Laila!!‘ after that line is amazing! The arrangements are international sounding, and very impressive. It falls into the Tropical house genre which Pritam introduced earlier this year with the ‘Raabta’ title track. The EDM is highly impressive. It starts like a Chainsmokers track, and gets better than any Chainsmokers track as it progresses! The action theme is brought out amazingly through the arrangements. Ash King as the leading vocalist, does a fabulous job; it’s been a long time since we’ve heard him in such a groovy song! And Jigar Saraiya sounds great on the hookline. Vayu’s lyrics are fun and interesting as well. The song has a proper international touch to it, but it could’ve been better without Sidharth’s rap!

Rating: 4/5

A Gentleman is yet another Sachin-Jigar album that doesn’t disappoint. It’s so tough to have an album in which all the songs have repeat value, and especially for an action film. Thankfully enough, Sachin-Jigar and Raj & DK always make a good team, and all of their albums together have been quirky and cool, not to mention catchy. And such albums are the ones that become chartbusters right away. After ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’, Sachin-Jigar provide another wholesome album with ‘A Gentleman’! Sachin-Jigar are two gentlemen who hardly ever disappoint!!

Total Points Scored by This Album: 4 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 4 = 21

Album Percentage: 84%

Final Rating for This Album: सा< रे < ग < म < प < ध <नी< सां

Note: The letter which is underlined is the final rating.

Recommended Listening Order:Just listen to the album! 🙂

Which is your favourite song from A Gentleman? Please vote for it below! Thanks! 🙂

Mubarakan is an upcoming Bollywood romantic comedy of errors starring Arjun Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz, Athiya Shetty and Ratna Pathak Shah in the lead roles. The film is directed by the only director in Bollywood who still insists on doing comedies with a cast larger than a herd of cows, Anees Bazmee and produced by Ashwin Varde, Murad Khetani and Balwinder Singh Janjua. The film’s plot consists of such never-before-tried aspects like — double roles, a love quadrangle, a huge Punjabi family and Punjabi dance numbers. It is going to redefine Bollywood, I’m sure of it. 😏 If you didn’t get that sarcasm, moving on. The music is by T-Series, and that means multiple composers. Thankfully, one name out of the three composers, is a relief, it being the name of Amaal Mallik, the young composer proving his mettle out there. He gets two, upbeat dance tracks, so I hope those are catchy! The next two composers are Gourov-Roshin, returning after treating us to a small break from their remakes, and sadly they have three songs, and Rishi Rich with Yash Anand, who have composed the title song of the film. Let’s just get this over with, eh?

1. The Goggle Song

A wedding song to start the album, this one is an enjoyable tune from Amaal. Not the best he can do for sure, but it still makes you groove to the beat. The beat itself is infectious, with the composer adding quirky sound effects making it sound better. The ensemble of singers does really well for a wedding song, and for once, Tulsi sounds better than Neeti. The lyrics are mediocre, but hilarious at times. A good wedding track, but not very innovative.Rating: 3.5/5

2. Mubarakan (Title Track)

“This is the Rishi Rich beat.” The song starts with this obvious statement, and an unexpected incorporation of some portions ‘Yamma Yamma’ (Shaan). The actual composition falls flat, but it is saved by R.D. Burman’s old song, which plays throughout, and its addition was quite creative. Vocals are horrible. Lyrics are horrible. Rap is horrible. Arrangements are not so horrible. (Mostly, it is the awesome oud from the old song). In short, a horrible song, but for the arrangements and the old song’s portions.
P.S. I wouldn’t call this a Remake as such.Rating: 2.5/5 (0.5 bonus for using that old song wisely)

3. Jatt Jaguar

Another typical Punjabi song, the Punjabi flavour accentuated even more by a mediocre composition that barely manages to grasp your attention, except at the hook. Even Vishal doesn’t sound as energetic as always, but Navraj does. Lyrics are typical. Arrangements are typical, but there are traces Amaal’s digital quirks. At many places the tune seems like some old song I can’t recall! 😥 Not the best Amaal can do.Rating: 2.5/5

4. Haathon Mein Thhe Haath

A typical Pakistani pop-esque song follows, and it immediately strikes me as Papon’s worst song after a long, long time. The composition is staid and clichéd, his vocals do not help at all. Aditi sounds over stylish as usual. Those typical digital beats add to the melancholia. Backing vocalists add to the staleness, especially the Sufi one. Lyrics are something you won’t even notice. A song that clearly doesn’t know where it belongs.Rating: 2.5/5

5. Hawa Hawa

The hit Pakistani pop song remade, with a typppppical kuthu beat and rhythm! Mika singing increases the headache, and the new composition is just unbearable. The hookline is good, but the other parts fall flat. The female vocals by Prakriti sound good though. Lyrics belong to a Sajid-Wajid soundtrack. Why????Rating: 2.5/5

6. Dil Dhadke Louder Louder

Another Punjabi folksy song ends the album, this time a mélange of two Punjabi folk songs, ‘Kala Doriya’ and ‘Baari Barsi’. The composition doesn’t hook you at all; in fact it sounds like ‘Jatt Jaguar Part 2’. The new singer Rinku Giri is the typical Punjabi male singer affair, he sounds like Diljit Dosanjh. Arrangements are “louder louder”. Lyrics are typical. A song that relies on folk songs to propel it, but fails.Rating: 2/5

Mubarakan is yet another feather in Bollywood’s cap of Punjabi albums. All of the songs are very staid, heard-before ones, that don’t really help generate any interest. Amaal does okayish in one song, but showcases his quirk in the other. The others perform subpar, with the exception of Rishi Rich, who has made quite a catchy song. But even with its catchiness I couldn’t rate it higher than 2.5. So, for anyone counting, Mubarakan! Another flop album has been born!

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